


Of Creeps and Candy Canes

by Stilienski



Series: Sterek ficlets [14]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Artist Stiles Stilinski, Creeper Derek Hale, M/M, Writer Stiles, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7823149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stilienski/pseuds/Stilienski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles has just moved into his new house in a quiet suburban neighborhood and it's all perfect, including his beautiful white picket fence. But then there's this neighbor with impressive, creepy eyebrows and Stiles will die of curiosity if he doesn't figure out what the hell is up with that guy... then again, breaking into the home of a possible evil serial killer may result in an untimely death too.<br/>Oh well...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Creeps and Candy Canes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lonaargh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonaargh/gifts).



> For Lonaargh because YAAAAY SHE'S GOING BACK TO SCHOOL \o/  
> congrats <3
> 
> (This is a fill for the Free Space on my trope bingo card)

Stiles has just moved out, college done and over with, and he made enough money off of his first comic book series that he managed to buy himself a nice little house in the suburbs. Close enough to the big city so he can go there with Scott and Isaac to party all night long, or well, play video games at their place. He spends most of his time writing and drawing at his desk looking out over the street. Which is how he first caught sight of him. His neighbor from across the street. His grumpy, surly neighbor from across the street... he does nothing but frown way too seriously when Stiles sees him coming out of his house, he’s sweating and taking a surgical mask off of his face. _A surgical mask_ and there are _rubber gloves_ and _red stains all over his t-shirt_ so Stiles freaks out and squeals, forgetting the window was open and the scary neighbor looks right at him with his _murder eyes_.

Of course Stiles immediately calls Scott, because he has to just tell _someone_ and he can't tell his dad because he promised his dad that he'd be just fine on his own. Which obviously would be disproven by Stiles freaking out over the serial killer living across the street. But Scott just keeps telling him that nothing is going on, that maybe Stiles imagined it (and yeah, Stiles had taken a little bit – a lot – too much Adderall and had maybe been up the entire night all through the day till that murderer appeared in the afternoon, so maybe Scott isn't too far off). So Stiles decide to let it go for now, playing it off on his overactive imagination which he should really just be putting in his comic book here!

Except... it happens again, and Stiles is sure of it now because he had slept like a motherfucking princess and he hasn't overdosed on Adderall in at least two days and had even been careful not to overdo the coffee. He was also a lot closer to the suspect this time since he was getting the mail out of the mailbox at his suburban white picket fence (yes, Stiles was proud of his suburban home, it was awesome). Which is when the murderer with his sickeningly charming eyes and his creepy eyebrows had _waved_ at him. He’d waved at Stiles with _blood staining his rubber gloves_. As if he was taunting Stiles to go tell someone or to figure it out because _Stiles was going to be next_.

This time when he calls Scott, his friend just sighs and tells him to put his mind at ease and go investigate if that’s what it takes. And he promises Stiles solemnly that if he hasn't heard from him in the next 30 minutes he will call 911. So Stiles goes out there at night when the house is completely dark but there's light coming from one of those teeny little basement windows. So he gracefully falls down in the damp grass to peek in and the window is a little bit fogged up, but Stiles is sure he can see a table with blood stains on it and in a corner he can see a freaking cauldron and there are all sorts of devices and apparatus…. Probably things that would hurt people in some way, definitely _evil_ things. The creep probably keeps people as pets and does tests on them, tortures them with whatever the fuck all of that is and then kills them slowly and painfully. Yep, Stiles is going to die but at least it will be on his own terms and not after some serial killer neighbor has charmed him into coming over for dinner but then it turns out that Stiles is the meal and-

He shoots Scott a quick text with his observations of the torture basement that’s definitely the source of all evil. He also tells him that he's going in and that he loves him and that Scott should definitely lie to his dad and just make him think he got into a car accident because his dad will find a way to revive him and kill him again if he finds out that stiles was stupid enough to do some breaking and entering into the house of a _serial killer_.

Stiles goes around back, finds the backdoor unlocked and is met with the faintest sound of creepy Christmas music. Keep in mind that it's fucking July right now! Christmas is nowhere in sight! This serial killer tortures people to the eerie sound of Christmas music! That is soooo fucked up! But Stiles is in there now and for the love of god he's going to figure out what's going on in here even if it will probably get him killed and eaten.

So he grabs a tighter hold of his baseball bat (what? Stiles wouldn't go in _that_ unprepared) and ventures on, finds the stairs that lead down to the basement and winces when the door creaks as he opens it. But someone down there is still happily humming along to the music so he sneaks down the stairs, accompanied by the sounds of someone apparently _fucking sharpening knives or something_. From Stiles’ point of view he can only see the evil legs and the demonic apron when there’s a surprised and _evil_ squeal when the killer notices him creeping down the stairs. So Stiles jumps the rest of the way down the stairs instead of running back up because clearly it's too fucking late now!

He looks around the basement, baseball bat at the ready but instead of being met by knives like he'd expected, there's the surly looking grumpy serial killer.... doing... something that doesn't involve knives or torture or people...

“What the fuck are you doing?” Stiles screams looking at the killer that looks even more charming from up close, which explains how he gets his victims! (Just because Stiles can’t see any victims right now doesn’t mean there aren’t any!)

The guy looks wearily at the raised baseball bat as he keeps his hands held up high in surrender. “What the fuck am I doing? This is my house!” The serial killer has a very high pitched voice apparently… which doesn’t really go with the whole caveman-chique vibe he’s got going on all over his face.

“I know that! But you’re not doing anything... serial killer-y!” There's a short pause where the guy just squints and Stiles finally starts to realize that he broke into a house of an innocent person... well... probably innocent.

“No... what exactly did you expect to find here?”

“People! In cages! Or bodybags! I expected loads of plastic sheets and blood and surgical equipment and.... what the fuck is this?”

Derek could be mistaken, but... does the _stranger_ in his fucking basement actually sound _disappointed_ about not finding something serial killer-y?

“I’m just making candy canes. Why would you break into a place where you expect all of that to be? That… doesn’t sound very safe.” Stiles chose to ignore the PSA because really…

“Candy canes? You're making _candy canes_? Well that would explain the fucking creepy Christmas music!” Stiles flails around, the adrenaline high really catching up to him now.

“Hey! It's Christmas music, it's not creepy!” No one insults Derek Hale’s Christmas music, not even crazy people with bats, Derek will not stand for that!

“It is when you expect to find someone torturing people to the sound of fucking Silent Night you fucker!” This time when Stiles flails his arms about the baseball bat knocks a cardboard box off the shelf, sending a bag filled with white plastic flake-y stuff all over Stiles. It’s in his hair and his eyes and his _mouth_. He splutters trying to spit it all out.

So he drops his bat and just tries to get the white stuff off of his face enough so he can see and breathe again. When he finally does the serial… candy cane maker? is giving him a deadpan stare, looking severely unamused as he snaps his rubber gloves off before coming over with a dustpan.

“You owe me 5 pounds of fake snow.” Fake… fake snow. Right. Candy canes and fake snow… in _5 pound bags_.

“It’s freaking July! Why are you making candy canes at ass o’clock at night?” As he gestured wildly with his arms to accentuate the point he was trying to get across, fake snow floated down all around him.

“Why are you breaking into people’s houses?”

“Oh no, no, don’t you turn this on me!” But then he stopped dusting himself off for a second, realizing he was chastising someone for asking him why he broke into their house in the middle of the night. “Okay… okay, fair point. But you,” he pointed at the guy who was suddenly a lot closer, helping Stiles brush off the snow, “You with your mask thing, and the rubber gloves thing and the bloodstains all over your shirt - which was probably foodcoloring - and… I didn’t want to end up being charmed by the neighborhood serial killer and ending up as your dinner! It would have just proven to my dad that I am incapable of taking care of myself when I, in fact, am a very responsible adult person and really I think getting charmed by grumpy yet attractive looking serial killers can happen to anyone!”

“Well, I think one way to avoid serial killers is to not break into their home.”

“Hey, hey, hey! I didn’t do that, first of all the backdoor was unlocked so it’s not actually breaking and entering, it’s just… entering. And second of all you were making candy canes, you’re not a serial killer.” Sound logic, even if Stiles said so himself. “How do you even make candy canes? Oh can I taste one? I’m Stiles by the way, sorry about sneaking up on you and messing with your snow.”

“Really? From threatening me with a baseball bat and insulting my favorite music to asking for a taste of my candy cane?” Stiles raised one eyebrow because really, a taste of his candy can? That was the worst line ever.

But then the guy started blushing and stammering. “No, no, not! Oh my god, not like that. I just… not that you’re not… but that was.” He coughed and swallowed once trying to compose himself enough to get through an entire sentence for once. “That was not what I meant.”

“Okay, good, because you’ll need to come up with a better line if you want me to lick that popsicle.” Stiles smirked as the serial candy cane maker just stammered some nonsense again and blushed an even deeper red. “And I also wouldn’t mind knowing your name before we get to that.”

“Derek.”

“Derek the candy cane maker. Nice to meet you. I’m Stiles, I moved in last week, to the house across the street. I was planning to come introduce myself and bring cupcakes or whatever it is that decent people do, but then I decided it would be way more exciting to imagine you were a serial killer and I had to save all the people in your basement from being eaten. Again… sorry about that, also sorry about all the talking, it’s the adrenaline, and I think I may have forgotten to take my Adderall today.” Stiles pondered on that for a few seconds before Derek cleared his throat.

“Which means you’re probably not going to want to sleep anytime soon, right? How about some coffee and I’ll let you taste the fudge I made yesterday?”

“I’d fudging love that.”

**Author's Note:**

> The weird part of youtube took me to videos of people making candy and there was a family making candy in the basement and.......  
> Look, I don't even know what to say anymore, everything just turns into Sterek when I'm around.
> 
> Anyway, I personally love the thought of a happy Derek being in love with Christmas. Being protective of his christmas music, starting all the preparations months in advance... he's probably the kind of guy who still has his tree up by the end of January and then needs loads of alcohol to get over the sad goodbye.
> 
> Thanks for reading, please leave some kudos if you liked it and let me know what you think in the comments!  
> If you've got some prompts for me, you can leave them at my [tumblr](http://bilienski.tumblr.com/)


End file.
